Bengali Reviews Hindi Reviews Indian Reviews Reviews

Film Review: Morichika (2025) by Ishaan Ghose

Morichika Mriyanka Banerjee
"Our city looks so beautiful in the rain"

The presentation of the lives of the underprivileged in India’s major cities, Mumbai and Kolkata predominantly, has been one of the bases of local filmmaking, particularly for the titles that screen abroad. focuses his story on the latter city through the lives of two individuals, although his presentation differs significantly, both in terms of context and audiovisuals. It is also worth noting that “” is essentially a one-man-show, particularly behind the camera, as Ghose has taken upon himself the roles of director, writer, DP, editor and production designer.

Morichika is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam

IFFR 2025 logo

As the film begins, we watch the first protagonist, Priya, giving birth to her child without the father being present, with the reasons being revealed a bit later in the movie. After this, we watch the young girl raising her baby on her own while working at a small restaurant and shooting online make-up tutorials in an effort to support the two of them. The father eventually appears, but his ways just make things worse for her. Kishan is a Hindi-speaker from the neighbouring state of Bihar, who has come to the city to find employment. Working as a welder and in construction, he barely manages to make enough to sustain himself, while the hard work takes a toll on his health. Through the friendship of another man in a similar situation, though, he finally finds some companionship and his life begins to improve, even if mildly.

Ghose directs a movie that unfolds in three axes, with the stories of the protagonists providing the first two and the depiction of life in Kolkata the third. Probably the most intriguing part of the movie, though, is the last one, for a number of reasons. Firstly, the filmmaker does not restrict himself in the usual view of misery in the city, focusing on poor and frequently uneducated individuals, but also presents elements of youth culture, which includes modern dancing and western-style music, in an element very rarely depicted in local cinema. Add to that the fact that the protagonist is a YouTuber and you have a breath of fresh air in the presentation of life in the megalopolis.

Check also this video

Secondly, the audiovisual approach, which frequently moves into music-video style, is equally unique, particularly because, in contrast to usual practices, does not include people suddenly starting to sing and dance, but a combination of music and images that result in a series of truly impressive sequences. Particularly the ones with the extreme weather will definitely stay on mind, but all these are actually memorable, additionally for the use of mostly electronic music, with the job done by Rajarshi Das and Soumajit Ghosh in the department being among the movie’s best traits.

At the same time, the comments deriving from the narrative are as impactful as they are eloquently presented. Patriarchy and particularly the role of women in the particular society is highlighted by Priya’s life and her relationship with the father of her child, in a story of neglect and abuse that is quite dramatic. Granted, the acting of the father is not exactly great, but ‘s as Priya definitely compensates, with the video recording after her interaction with him being among the most memorable in the whole movie.

Kishan on the other hand, represents all those people who come to Kolkata searching for a better life but are swallowed by the megalopolis, with loneliness becoming a factor both in psychological and in physical terms. The fact that Kishan finds a friend eventually adds a note of optimism in the film, which actually extends to both arcs, although the aforementioned realism also lingers, finding its apogee in the ‘burying’ scene, another rather memorable one here. in the role is also quite good, particularly in the most dramatic moments.

Ghose’s cinematography combines impression (in the music-video like sequences) with documentary-like realism (in the plethora of scenes in the streets of the city) in an approach that works quite nicely for the movie. His own editing results in a mid-tempo that fits the narrative, although some lagging and some scenes solely aiming at impression do appear here and there.

Despite this issue, however, and perhaps a somewhat overlong duration of 133 minutes, “Morichika” emerges as a very competent film that combines substance with impression, and a breath of fresh air in the presentation of Indian cinema outside the borders of the country.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

Panagiotis (Panos) Kotzathanasis is a film critic and reviewer, specialized in Asian Cinema. He is the owner and administrator of Asian Movie Pulse, one of the biggest portals dealing with Asian cinema. He is a frequent writer in Hancinema, Taste of Cinema, and his texts can be found in a number of other publications including SIRP in Estonia, Film.sk in Slovakia, Asian Dialogue in the UK, Cinefil in Japan and Filmbuff in India.

Since 2019, he cooperates with Thessaloniki Cinematheque in Greece, curating various tributes to Asian cinema. He has participated, with video recordings and text, on a number of Asian movie releases, for Spectrum, Dekanalog and Error 4444. He has taken part as an expert on the Erasmus+ program, “Asian Cinema Education”, on the Asian Cinema Education International Journalism and Film Criticism Course.

Apart from a member of FIPRESCI and the Greek Cinema Critics Association, he is also a member of NETPAC, the Hellenic Film Academy and the Online Film Critics Association.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

>